N82 Part 1+2+3+4+5..All about it

Introduction

NOKIA PHONE's BY ATTRASHThe recently announced Nokia N82 is animpressively specified device. With a 5 megapixel camera, integratedGPS, S60 software suite and WiFi, Bluetooth and 3.5G connectivity itboasts a feature set to match the flagship Nokia N95 8GB. However, theN82 has a greater focus on its camera, thanks to its Xenon flash. Itsprice point and smaller size suggest it may have a broader market thanthe expensive N95 8GB.

TheN82 represents a welcome return to candybars for the Nseries, whichremains, globally, the most popular device form factor. Typically,candybar phones are robust and can stand up to a lot of abuse and formany there's a certain sense of comfort and familiarity. Thus thetraditional form factor, the stand out camera performance and somethingof an emphasis on style over practicality in the design should attractinterest from fashion seekers looking for a phone with a bit extra. TheN82 is also reminiscent of N73 and, although the N82 is not strictly areplacement (in terms of its positioning), I'm sure there will beplenty of N73 owners expressing interest in the N82 precisely becauseit matches their form factor preference.

Physical aspects

TheN82 is slightly smaller in volume, at 90cc, than the N95 8GB at 96cc,but bigger than the N81's 86cc. However, the form factor, with itssmaller depth and longer height, means it subjectively feels smallerthan both in the hand. It compares more favourably with most averagefeature phones than other Nseries devices, which often have a feelingof bulk about them. At 114g (N95 8GB: 128g, N81: 140g) it isimpressively light and, together with its shape, means it disappearsunnoticed into pockets much more easily.

The casing of the N82is made up of hard plastics which make for a robust device. The N82really feels built to last with excellent overall build quality, thereare no untoward squeaks, flexes or rattles. The front of the device hasa shiny faux metallic look which appears striking, but has anunfortunate tendency to attract finger prints, and will need frequentcleaning. The rear of the device has a more conventional muted plastic,with an attractive embedded pattern of scored lines.

The rearof the N82 is dominated by the 5 megapixel camera with its Xenon flash.The camera lens is reassuringly protected by a robust slider mechanismwhich, when operated, starts or closes the camera application on thephone. I've always been a fan of such physical switch mechanisms andthis is amongst the best camera arrangements I've seen on a mobilephone. The up-down lens cover mechanism is much smoother and morenatural than the ring slider found on the N95 classic and less bulkythan the camera slide on the N73.

Underthe battery cover you'll find the 1050 mAh BP-6MT battery. Even withrelatively heavy usage you should be easily able to get through a day,and with lighter usage a few days is within reach. While a largerbattery capacity is always better, it has to be set against thecompromise of increased size and weight. Nokia have got things aboutright with the N82, it is in 'good enough' territory, especiallycompared to the N95 classic which was lacking in this department.

Onthe lower left hand side of the N82 is the power port, moved from itstraditional bottom left hand side location. Above this is the microSDcard slot - SDHC cards are supported; 8GB cards are currently availableand higher capacities on the way. A 2GB card is included in most salespacks - sufficient for average usage as it gives a good amount of roomfor photos, music and maps. There is a generous 100MB of internalmemory available and with this amount it makes sense to installapplications here and use the memory card for data storage. Above thememory card slot is the microUSB port, which is used for PCconnectivity. microUSB is relatively new to the Nseries (the N81 wasthe first device with this type of port), but it is an industrystandard and phone manufacturers are looking to standardise around it.There is a degree of annoyance at moving on from miniUSB given that youcan't re-use old cables, but it makes sense in the longer term and thesmaller profile should be less prone to collecting dust and othergrunge.

Onthe top of the device you'll find the 3.5mm audio jack and the powerbutton. This is the best position for the audio jack since it allowsyou to keep the phone in your pocket and avoid the headphone wireproblems that are common on the N95 with its side-located audio jack.The Nseries standardisation on 3.5mm audio ports continues to be verywelcome and Nokia deserve credit for listening to their users in thisarea. Other smartphone manufacturers could learn from this.

Ateither end of the right hand side of the N82 are the stereo speakers.These do not seem to match the performance of the N81 or N95, but arestill reasonable. Having both speakers on the same side does allows youto direct the sound more easily and in some ways is a sensible designdecision, given it matches with typical speaker usage. Typically youwill either be playing games in landscape mode or have the phonesitting on a desk playing music. In between the two speakers are thevolume up and down rocker key, the gallery key and the camera capturekey. The gallery effectively gives you the 'review mode' key which youtypically find on a standalone digital camera, further burnishing theN82ís camera related hardware offering. In common with most otherphones the camera capture key is positioned to mimic the feel of astand alone digital camera when the phone is held on its side inlandscape mode.

The sides of the N82 taper slightly from thefront to back, which makes it comfortable to hold. However this doesmean that the phone will not stand on its side, which makes itdifficult to take self timer pictures. Personally I feel this is gooddesign trade off, and as this YouTube video points out [LINK], you canuse the memory card slot cover to get around this problem (didn't workreliably for me - Ed), although personally I'd recommend leaning thephone against something!

The N82's keypad is something of a mixedbag, but overall performance is generally good and I think the space isused intelligently given the space made available by the form factorchoice. Styling is always a very subjective area. Personally I thinkthe N82 rather stands out, it has something of a retro-alternative lookand feel, but the reactions from people I have shown it to have beenmixed. The backing and surround of the keypad is the same shiny plasticas the rest of the front face of the device and is similarly prone tofingerprints. Given fingers are rather essential in using a keypad itis inevitable that this area ends up looking messy.

Thesend/answer and end call keys at first appear to be awkwardly placed onthe side of device. But appearances are deceptive, they are excellentin use partly because they are easy to locate without looking at thephone (it's almost a case of picking up the phone and squeezing it toanswer). This is reminiscent of the Nokia 6680 and is in sharp contrastwith the N95, especially the 8GB version, with its smaller equivalentkeys.

Thenews is more mixed on the softkeys, which are flat rocker-esque keyscombining the left softkey with the S60 key and the right softkey withthe cancel key. The positive side of this is that the keys are quitelarge, but the downside is that you have to be more careful about whereyou hit them. Potentially more irritating is the fact that the rightsoftkey/cancel key is interrupted, in the middle, by the protrudingmultimedia key, which results in relatively small key areas for allconcerned. Left-handers will find this arrangement particularlyannoying, as it requires extra contortions when pressing the keys withyour thumb. These right side keys are used less than their left sidecounterparts and the impact also has to be measured against the utilityof the multimedia key and easy access to its related multimediacarousel, which we discuss further below.

The central d-pad isin the 'ring with central button style' that is becoming increasinglycommon on Nokia phones. This style works well and is easy to use;allowing you to shift the thumb around the pad rather than having tolift it off for distinct key presses. The large central button thatthis arrangement allows is particularly welcome, given its frequentuse. Compared to the N95, the design of the N82's d-pad is better, butthe physical implementation is not. Unfortunately, the d-pad feelsrather spongier in use than I would like. The ring would also benefitfrom standing out a little more from the surrounding area - left/rightkeypresses in particular suffer, due to their proximity to the softkeybuttons.

The numeric pad is made up of small bars similar tothose found on the N91 and reminiscent of the first calculators (hencethe 'retro' label for styling). They look fiddly to use, but thanks tothe generous spacing between the keys it is possible to achieve fastand accurate input. The small keypad area is a design constraint sincecandybar phones with larger screens inevitably have less keypad spacethat similar slider or flip form factor models. In this light I thinkthe N82's keypad performs surprisingly well - it is, for example, adefinite improvement over the N73's.

The top of the front of theN82 has the usual light sensor (which automatically adjusts screenbrightness), the call speaker and VGA video calling camera. Below isthe high quality QVGA screen which is set behind hard plastic which isflush with the rest of the front face of the device. This avoids thedust collecting problem that is typical of devices with recessedscreens. At 2.4 inches, the screen is noticeably smaller than thosefound on the N95 models (N95 - 2.6 inches, N95 8GB - 2.8 inches), whichdoes have implications for consuming media, especially for watchingvideo. Some areas of the UI on the N82 have slightly less informationdisplayed on screen than the N95 - 5 versus 6 Active Idle shortcuts and5 versus 6 menu list items (e.g. in Gallery) are good examples. Howeverthe screen is still larger than most phones (e.g. the 6120 at only 2inches) and the smaller size does add a crispness missing from the N95models thanks to the higher pixel density. Performance outdoors is alsovery good with the screen visible even in bright sun light.

Connectivity

WithWiFI (b/g), HSDPA (WCDMA 2100), and quad band GSM, the N82 is wellcatered for in terms of data connectivity. The same single band WCDMAas with other Nokia phones may raise some eyebrows given that HTC andother smartphone manufacturers are routinely including support formultiple bands. Part of this is due to Nokia's legal disputes withQualcomm, but there are also cost and size (particularly with regard toaerial layout) issues to be considered.

With WiFi present,S60's usual SIP client puts in an appearance allowing you to make VoIPcalls from services such as Truphone or SIPhone. A Gizmo client thatutilizes the SIP client and adds a few other features (including chat)is available via the Nokia Download! service. Some operators havedisabled the SIP client in their own branded firmwares,so it is worthchecking with your operator if this is an important feature for you.

TheN82 has the familiar Bluetooth profiles, including A2DP and AVRCP foruse in stereo audio headsets. In tests I had no problems with any Nokiaaccessories. However, a Sony Ericsson audio accessory remote volumecontrol did not work; this is probably due to an incompatibilityproblem in the AVRCP profile, though it is difficult to say whether theaccessory or the handset is to blame. Bluetooth keyboards do work,although you will need to download Nokia's Wireless Keyboard application as, strangely, it is not included out of the box.

Camera

Imagingis clearly one of the N82's core functions; it has the same 5 megapixelcamera module as the N95. These impressed with their picture quality inearlier reviews, but the N82 has a few tricks up its sleeve that makesthe N82 stand out even more.

The first of these is the N82'sXenon flash, a first for the Nseries line. This is capable of producinga much brighter flash than is possible with an LED flash (as used onprevious Nseries models). Consequently the N82 is capable of producingmuch better pictures in low light conditions. It can even take photosin near total darkness provided the subject is within about 3 metres.In low lighting conditions you should be able to achieve good resultsup to 5 metres away. Previous Nseries camera performance was poor inlow lighting conditions and this was the one area which really heldthem back from fully replacing digital cameras. After all, a goodportion of people's pictures are taken indoors in less than ideal lightconditions. The difference is obvious in comparison pictures and thissingle factor makes the N82 a much more versatile cameraphone. The N82,like other Nseries, also has a dedicated autofocus assist lamp. This isthe red light that comes on in low light conditions in order to helpthe camera focus. In previous Nseries models, the assist lamp was partof the LED assembly, in the N82 it is still part of the overall unit,but is isolated in one corner. This may be one of the reasons why theN82 has faster lock on times for auto focus in low light conditions.

Thesecond improvement is in overall camera speed. The N82 has a fastcamera start up time (around 2.6 seconds in my tests) and a low shutterlag time (less than 0.2 of a second) which means it is more likely thatyou will be able to capture that magic moment. The shot to shot time isalso quite impressive at around 4 seconds. These numbers will varydepending on lighting and other conditions and, while there here isstill room for improvement, the N82 is much better in this departmentthan most camera phones.

Here are some sample images captured by the N82:

These last two images of a near identical scene differ only in that the second was taken when it was completely dark.

Thequality of images captured on camera phones generally face two keylimitations: image noise and post processing artefacts. Both of thesefactors are worsened by the unavoidable physical limitations of mobilephones. Here is a quick, simplified, explanation of the problem:

Imagenoise is the random fluctuation of pixel values (colours) in an image(for example two adjacent pixels may have different colour in acaptured image despite being the same in reality). Such noise is causedby the imperfect capture of light by a CMOS sensor or electronicinterference in the sensor itself. It is most apparent in low signalconditions such as in shadowed areas or in under exposed images. Thusimage noise is generally most noticeable in low light conditions (anarea where cameraphones are already weak due to anaemic LED flashes).The amount of noise in a captured image is also closely related to thedensity of light sensors (i.e. the size of individual image sensors)within a CMOS sensor. Each CMOS sensor is made up of many individuallight sensors and these collect photons (light) and convert them toelectrons (electrical signals). Thus the number of photons falling oneach sensor is important because it directly correlates to the strengthof the light signal (small light sensors collect fewer photons (weakersignal) than large light sensors (stronger signal). Consequentlysmaller sensors have lower signal to noise ratios. Other importantfactors related to the size of the image sensor are dynamic range (therange of tones a sensor can capture) and diffraction. You can read more on this subject here.This explains why a 3 megapixel stand alone digital camera will outperform a 3 megapixel cameraphone, the CMOS sensor in the digitalcamera will be larger than in the mobile phone.

The CMOS sensorsize in mobile phones has remained relatively constant while theresolution (megapixels) has increased which means image noise problemshave increased over time (this incidentally explains why moremegapixels is not always better in performance terms). To correct forthis, cameraphones typically perform post processing via their built insoftware; this includes techniques such as noise reduction and edgeenhancement. These techniques are implemented through softwarealgorithms and can effect image quality because they create artefacts(areas of unnatural looking image). The creation of artefacts isrelated to the quality of the post processing software and itsalgorithms. The removal of image noise and artefacts from postprocessing results in clearer, better defined images (although as ageneral rule image noise and artefacts are generally only individuallydiscernible after you zoom into an image).

Whatreally impresses with the N82 is the noticeable reduction in theseimage noise artefacts issues in captured images. Image noise andartefacts do not disappear altogether; there are still more than inmost standalone mid-tier digital cameras. The reduction is noticeablethough in comparisons with images captured with the N73 (and similarvintages) and there is a slight improvement over photos from the N95classic.

While this may be partly attributable to the improvedoptics and sensors on the N82 (and the Xenon flash in low lightconditions) it's also likely due to improved post processing software.Over the last few years, Nokia has been steadily improving the qualityof its camera drivers and image processing software: the N82 representsthe current peak of these continuing developments. Fortunately forother Nseries owners, at least some of these improvements are universal(and some can be delivered via firmware updates), the recent N95 8GB(and its firmware), for example, has near identical performance to theN82, at least in well lit conditions. However the combination ofsoftware improvement and Xenon flash deliver the best performance ofthe Nseries range to the N82.

TheN82's camera software will be familiar to most Nseries users. It allowsaccess to a number of settings, including mode, flash, self timer,color tone, viewfinder grid, white balance, exposure, sharpness,contrast and ISO speed. Viewfinder grid is the only addition, it placesgridlines on the screen horizontally and vertically, dividing thescreen into thirds. This helps you compose photos according to the rule of thirdsprinciple. The N82 works well in fully automatic mode (which I imaginemost people will use 90% of the time), but with practice you can getbetter results by changing these settings. The most obvious ones to useare the mode functions (e.g. using night mode to take a night photowithout the flash), but the others are worth exploring too, especiallyexposure. In order to get the most out of these, you probably need tohave a decent understanding of the fundamentals of photography. Thereare also a number of options after you capture an image: Send (MMS,Bluetooth, Web), Add to print basket, Web upload and Delete. Web uploadallows you to upload pictures to Flickr with a single click, a form ofinstantaneous sharing which is hard to beat.

Video capture isalso supported, with a VGA resolution at around 30 frames per secondand offers very similar performance to the N95 models. The quality iseasily watchable on a TV and with practice you can get some really goodresults. With video capture, more so than still image capture, theresults are dependent on the expertise of the user in terms ofassessing lighting, framing the video, holding the phone steady and soon.

The Gallery application, used for viewing and accessingmultimedia, remains the same as on previous Nseries. It does areasonable job of basic media viewing, although album functionality isa little inaccessible and combining images and videos together in onebig list is not ideal (agreed - Ed). More impressive are the companionfunctions and services, including Slide show, Image editor andPrinting.

Being able to run a slide show on your TV (via TVOut) with background music or order hard print copies of your photosfrom your phone (via the XpressPrint service)or upload pictures directly to Flickr is a user experience that noordinary digital camera can meet. It is this sort of area that reallyshows of the power of Nokia's multimedia computers. However, Galleryhas room for improvement; finding an image once you have more than 50or more images is cumbersome. If you try to solve this by regularlytaking photos off the phone then there is no easy way of keeping yourfavourite photos on the phone and little incentive to properlycategorise photos into albums on the phone. An option to view media inhierarchies or smart albums which took advantage of the available metadata (by date, by location, etc.) might help.

Nokia Photos, aPC application currently in beta (and available from the Nseries website) does solve some of these issues. It provides easy to use sync andan option to sync photos back to the phone from the PC. However, givenits beta status, made obvious by clashes between the Lifeblog, Galleryand Nokia Photo applications in both process and nomenclature, itcannot be considered in an assessment of the N82.

There is nodoubting that the N82's camera functionality is very impressive andgives excellent all round results. It is easily capable of replacingmid range standalone cameras in almost all situations. The addition ofthe Xenon flash means decent images can be captured even in very lowlight conditions; this was a stumbling for all previous Nseriesdevices. Overall start up and auto focus times have been improved,making it easier to capture that passing moment. Of course cameraperformance and image quality is only one half of the picture (no punintended). The lens shutter mechanism, sensible positioning of thecapture key and decent camera software create a very intuitive cameraexperience. The only thing that doesn't really measure up to these highstandards is viewing photos after they have been taken and that is downto the Gallery issues we discussed above. Despite this, the cameraperformance and user experience taken together mean that there is noquestion that the N82 is the best cameraphone that Nokia have everproduced.

In part 2 of my Nokia N82 review, I'll be looking at its GPS, its overall software package, UI tweaks and general performance.

GPS and Nokia Maps

The N82 is the second Nseries model afterthe N95 to get a built in GPS. Nokia have also considerably improvedthe implementation since the N95 launch by adding assisted GPS.The N82 also benefits from moving the GPS aerial from the bottom of thedevice to the top. The end result is excellent performance with lock ontimes from a cold start around 30-40 seconds in most cases and just ahandful of seconds to reacquire the signal from a soft start. The phonealso holds onto GPS signals much more reliably, be it in urban canyonsor heavily vegetated areas.

The main built in application totake advantage of the GPS is Nokia Maps. This offers free mapping for150 countries, with around 40 of these also offering routing. Maps caneither be downloaded over the air or preloaded using Nokia Maps Loader.The preloading option is very worthwhile if you are roaming or do nothave a flat rate data package as the size of downloads can quickly addup. A point of information (POI) database, divided into variouscategories, comes with the maps. The quality of the POIs varies byarea; large urban areas are usually reasonably well catered for but donot expect comprehensive coverage. The search function is good withsupport for address (including postcode) and keyword based searches,and 'nearby' (nearest POI from a specified category). Custom locations (e.g. your house) can be saved as Landmarks and then used in routingand navigation.

Basicroute planning is free, but turn by turn voice navigation is a premiumfeature, which you have to buy as a subscription service from withinthe application. You choose a specific area (e.g. UK and Ireland) and atime frame and the cost is set accordingly. For the UK and Ireland thecosts are £4.50 (one week), £5.73 (one month), £43.06 (one year) and£50.24 (three years). For all of Western Europe, the same time framesare £6.00, £7.17, £64.59 and £71.77. The exact costs will vary bycountry and by operator. You can pay by credit card or, for chargesunder £10, by premium SMS. The pricing scheme makes a lot of sense andis especially attractive for those requiring only periodic usage.Navigation subscriptions are not transferable (to a new IMEI) so if youthink you may replace your phone in the future think carefully beforesigning up for the longer periods.

Other premium featuresinclude guides provided by third parties such as Berlitz. I have trieda couple of these and the quality is very mixed; some are so poor theyconstitute a total rip off, but there's no way to distinguish betweenthe good and the bad. You are probably better off avoiding the guidesfor now.

NokiaMaps has evolved considerably since its release early in 2007. It isnow generally faster in operation and the user interface (informationdisplayed on screen, menu layout) and feature set (more powerfulsearch, bigger POI database) has been improved. Nokia Map Loader hasalso received similar updates and both applications feel a lot morepolished that at their initial launch. However the most welcomeimprovement has been better navigation routing. In my experience theearlier version did not always plan the optimal route. Clearly at thelocal level the user will always know best - we all use local knowledgeand shortcuts which are difficult to codify into a routing algorithm.The newer versions of Nokia Maps have definitely improved, more oftenthen not they now get closer to giving the natural route. I'm now happyto rely on the software when in an unfamiliar area, whereas previouslyI still kept one eye on the paper map.

Web and Multimedia software

TheN82 has the excellent S60 Web application, which is now relativelymature. With its intelligent column sizing, visual history, overviewmode and minimap, browsing sites intended for the PC is easy. Thelimitations of the browser are more about the screen resolution (e.g.drop down menus not fitting on the screen) and softkey controls (asopposed to touch) than any application problems. In practical day today usage there is the occasional annoyance of the N82 being recognisedas a mobile device and presented with a stripped down version of asite. However this is not really the fault of the browser, even if somekind of user agent masking option would help here. The RSSfunctionality works fine though the lack of subscription import orexport limits the utility. In due course the N82 is likely to receive afirmware update that adds Flash Lite 3 and Web Run Time (WRT) to thedevice (similar to the recent N95 8GB firmware update).This will represent a very major upgrade of Web's capabilities. It willenable Flash video (e.g. YouTube) to be viewed in the browser and usherin a new type of application - WRT widgets.

TheN82 has a dedicated Music folder, in which you'll find the Musicplayer, Radio, Podcasting and Music store applications. The Musicplayer is little changed from its earlier versions with thehierarchical music library, support for album art, playlist managementand integration into the Idle screen. Podcasts are now divided intotheir own hierarchy and can be paused and resumed at the same locationat a later date. The podcasting application lets you find new podcasts(or enter them manually), set up subscriptions and, if required,schedule automatic downloads. There's no PC companion, but this reallyisn't required. Podcast downloads can be large, so unless you want havea flat rate data tariff you should stick to WiFi. Podcasting is onearea where the N82 (and N95 etc.) really outshine any competition -there's nothing to match it/them on any other portable audio device ormobile phone.

TheMusic store application is a link to the the Nokia Music Store fromwhere you can browse and buy music on your phone. The store iscurrently only available in the UK, but other countries should gettheir own versions shortly. Browsing the store is easy and there's alarge (and increasing) music catalog available with 30 seconds samplesavailable for all music. The downloaded music, priced at 80p per track(£8 per album), is protected by the Windows Media Janus DRM. Onstarting a download you'll first get the appropriate license filebefore the WMA music download starts. There are some nice touches tothe download experience, for example new purchases are automaticallyadded to the music library without any user intervention or annoyingdelays.

There's also a PC version of the music store, althoughthis can only be accessed through Internet Explorer, as an extraActiveX add on is required to manage the music downloads. Windows MediaPlayer 11 is used for music management and transferring music to andfrom the device. It allows for two way syncs (music purchased on thephone is automatically copied to the PC) and has comprehensive, ifslightly fiddly, sync options. Sync speed is a bit slow, but this isn'treally a problem after you have performed the first sync. Windows MediaPlayer 11 is not without its faults and the music management does notfeel as refined as iTunes. Nokia is working on its own music managementsoftware which should improve matters, but this is not expected to beavailable until later in the year.

Overall,Nokia Music Store is an impressively slick system and is easy to use.Nokia has faced some criticism for its use of DRM (especially with thetrend for DRM-free music) and lack of unique features. However it hasto operate within the realities of the current music landscape and,with that in mind, the current system is excellent. Many users will'side load' from their CD collection and a number will continue to buyCDs because of their flexibility. It is to Nokia's credit that this ismade just as easy and seamless as buying music from Nokia's own store.I do think that the instant nature and single track purchase of theNokia Music Store should attract its own set of users - you only needto look at the iTunes ecosystem to realise that digital music downloadsare popular. iPods may currently have the digital music high ground,but the convergence trend has long pointed towards their functionalitybeing subsumed into phones. With the Nokia Music Store in place,Nseries phones are in a realistic position to replace the completeiTunes experience. It may not be perfect, but for many it will be goodenough and we can expect to see a lot of activity in this area in thenext year.

Video is handled by the duo of Video Center andRealPlayer. The latter is the video playback application and supportsboth Real video and MP4 formats (including both H.263 and H.264). Withthe right formats and resolution, you can play video smoothly in fullscreen with excellent picture and audio quality. Video Manager is avideo downloading companion program (technically it uses RSS feeds andacts in the same ways as the podcasting program). Video manager arriveswith some default Nokia content but a variety of extra sources can beadded. The selection is relatively limited and most people will belooking to get extra video from elsewhere. Getting video to mobiledevices is generally far more cumbersome than music transfers. Thereare different formats, bitrates and resolutions to contend with, whichmeans it may not always be possible to do a direct copy. The N82 alsofaces these problems too - Nokia provides a PC program to help withconversion of existing files. However a bigger problem is a lack ofsource material. Taking video off a DVD is much more cumbersome thanripping a CD (because of high resolutions and bitrates and because ofcomplex DRM-circumvention) and digital downloads are in their infancy.The N82 is a good video playback device (even the physical screenlimitations can be overcome with TV-Out), but its potential is somewhat limited by a lack of readily available video material.

Aswith other Nseries devices, there is support for the UPnP standard forinteracting with other media devices over a network (WiFi) via the Homenetwork application. UPnP devices fall into three categories: servers(store media), renderers (play media) and control points (control arenderer by telling it to play something from a server). EarlierNseries devices were only UPnP severs and control points. The N82 (andN95 8GB and N95 with firmware v20+) can now also act as a UPnPrenderer, which means you can send media to your phone from a UPnPserver. The technology is impressive (for example I streamed music tothe N82 from my PC using the UPnP server built into Windows MediaPlayer 11 and then used TV Out to play it through a HiFi), but it canbe fiddly to set up and use. As a result I'm not sure how much use thiswill get from mainstream users; nonetheless, it is good to see Nokiapushing the boundaries.

TVOut, also built into the N82 (the included cable plugs into the 3.5 mmaudio jack), is likely to get more usage. This is ideal for watchingvideos or showing photos captured on the phone. RealPlayer (videos) andGallery (when displaying a photo) will send a VGA resolution signal viaTV Out, though whether you see it as such depends on your TV. Wecovered some of the possibilities for TV out in a series of feature article on AAS which you can view here.In day to day usage, I found myself using the cable for high qualityaudio out (connecting to a HiFi) as much as video out, but I'm sureyour usage pattern will vary.

The N82's multimedia software suiteis undoubtedly comprehensive. However, Nokia could improve things bymaking it easier for users to take advantage of some of itscapabilities. The component features do not always feel like they fittogether. Nowhere is this more obvious than sync - I would personallyprefer a unified sync process where I could control all copying to andfrom the device. Moreover it sometimes feels like too many of thefeatures have been left for users to find and take advantage ofthemselves; the N82 has a lot of untapped potential. I would draw acontrast with the iPhone, which many would deem a better multimediaexperience despite the fact it has nowhere near the technicalcapabilities of the N82.

N-Gage

The N82 is anN-Gage compatible handset, of course, and there are two demo gamespreloaded (Fifa and Asphalt) which Krisse looked at earlier on All About N-Gage on the N81.The N82's spongy d-pad may not offer the best experience for gamers norare there any extra keys, such as on the N81, to optimise it forlandscape usage. However, many N-Gage games do not require extensivebutton bashing. Thus the gaming experience will likely depend on thesort of games you play on the device. In this light it is not reallypossible to draw any conclusive judgements until N-Gage formallyactivates. Moreover, for the majority of people, N-Gage will be a niceextra rather than a reason to buy one Nokia device over another. Ifyour primary interest is N-Gage then you are probably better off withthe N81. The one caveat here is that the N82, like the N95, does haveaccelerated 3D graphics (the N81 does not) which may be used in futureN-Gage titles.

Multimedia menu and UI complexity

TheN82 has the newest version of the multimedia menu (first seen in theNokia N95 8GB and N81). This menu, accessible via the multimedia key,offers a series of tiles in a carousel fashion (navigated via the leftand right directional controls). Each tile represents a certainapplication (experience) and offers a vertical menu of shortcuts tospecific functions. For example the music tile offers shortcuts to theNow playing screen, the Music menu (the list of available music), thePodcast menu, the Playlist menu and a Shuffle all songs option. Thereare other tiles for Contacts (list of user selectable contacts),Internet (first five Web bookmarks), Maps (last five Maps locations),Games (N-Gage links), Gallery (last captured image, slide show andalbums) and Videos (last captured). Taken together, these tiles alloweasy access to a large proportion of the most commonly used features ofthe phone. The default first shown tile is Gallery which seems a littlestrange on the N82, given the dedicated Gallery shortcut key on theside of the device. Fortunately the tiles can be rearranged in anyorder, but beyond this there is little scope for customisation. Itwould be helpful to be able to remove some tiles altogether andmessaging and application tiles (for third party applications) would bewelcome additions. No doubt the multimedia menu will continue to evolveas additional Nseries devices are released this year.

Forsome, the multimedia key and associated carousel menu will beimmediately much used, for it does provide very easy access to many ofthe key features of the phone. Longer term S60 users may, initially,find it less useful as they will be more used to accessing functionsvia the traditional application menu. However, learning to takeadvantage of the multimedia menu is worthwhile since it does givefaster access to some functions. For example, music playback can be aslittle as three keypresses away via the multimedia menu versus five foran application menu route.

You can also argue that it is also amore intuitive experience and that breaking down phone functions intodiscrete experiences and tasks (with the key task at the top of eachexperience tile) more closely matches how people think when carryingout a task. This contrasts with the more regimented and less intuitiveapplication menu approach ("I want to do this, so I should use this application").

Onthe other hand, you can argue that it adds an extra layer of confusionbecause it gives the user yet another way to launch applications andaccess functions. With the application screen, multimedia menu andactive idle screen there are now three distinct ways (UI methodologies)in which you can access applications. The multimedia menu in particularfeels disconnected from the other two. Perhaps the very need for themultimedia menu represents a failing of the original UI? Wouldn't it bebetter to just have one method that was straight forward and easy touse for everyone (e.g. iPhone)? However, this is an oversimplification, phones like the N82 are complex, with an everincreasing array of functionality. Presenting this complexity in a UIis very much more difficult than presenting a simple set offunctionality. This UI conundrum is one of the curses of convergence.

Ithink the multiple UI methodologies offer a good compromise because itoffers flexibility to the user. The standard S60 UI is there, but themultimedia menu offers an opportunity to provide a more experiencedriven-alternative. There is a price to be paid in terms of the initiallearning curve and immediate intuitiveness compared to simpler devices,but this must be measured against the much richer functionalityavailable in the N82. There is plenty of room for improvement, but,given the diversity of its functionality, the N82 still remainsaccessible to the large majority of its target audience.

Other software, screen rotation and performance

Outsideof its multimedia prowess, the N82 has the same S60 application suiteas other phones. Contacts, Messaging and Calendar reassure with theirfamiliarity, as do the usual companion applications. At one time, suchapplications were the main stay of smartphones and PDAs, but today areasonable address book, calendar and messaging suite are a nearuniversal constant in mobile phones (generally). S60 provides a goodexperience in this area and while some power users may clamour formore, the average consumer will find that what is on offer is more thangood enough.

However there is still room for the companionapplications to impress. One of these is Nokia's Search application,which was first publicly released last year, and has since gone througha number of iterations. The latest of these is present on the N82 andis accessed via an Active Idle shortcut or as a distinct application.It combines Internet, local and device search into a singleapplication. The Internet and local search uses different searchproviders in different markets. In the UK you can use Yahoo orMicrosoft Live. Unfortunately, at the time of writing there was nolocal search included for the UK. The on device search provides searchacross all the different types of content on the device. Theapplication provides a more advanced search than that available withinthe Contacts and Messaging application, letting you track downimportant information.

Anotherapplication that rose in prominence over the last year was Download!.This enables Nokia to provide extra applications and content fordownload directly on the phone. Many of these are provided by thirdparties and are charged for, but Nokia also provides a number of itsown add-on applications for free. It is well worth checking to see whatis available on a regular basis and Nokia often uses it as a channel todistribute new applications, such as Internet Radio. It also goes someway to educating new users that the phone can accept new applicationsand, while it does not present a universal solution to the discoveryand distribution problems facing mobile software developers, it is agood start.

Thereare plenty of other applications in the S60 offering and, of course,installable third party applications can add to the number. On the N82,by default, the majority of these are hidden away in the Tools orApplications Folders. This makes sense as most are only going to beused occasionally or will be automatically activated by anotherapplication (such as the excellent Quickoffice when dealing with emailattachments). This goes some way to stopping an avalanche of softwareicons (57 out of the box, by my count) overwhelming new users. It ispossible to see this many applications as software bloat, but perhapsit is fairer to see it as a symptom of flexible functionality? Onceyou get past the common basics, everyone has a different set of usagescenarios. With the ability to install new applications and reorderfolders and application placement in the launcher at will, each personcan customise the phone to their usage patterns.

A UI refinementwhich gets its debut on the N82 is automatic screen rotation. Thisallows a switch from portrait to landscape mode when you physicallyturn the device anticlockwise. This uses the N82's accelerometer tomeasure the current orientation of the device relative to the ground.The accelerometer is also used to automatically rotate pictures fromthe camera at capture time (as on the N95). Switching the UI fromportrait to landscape is near instantaneous in almost all situations.At first it may seem like something of a gimmick, but after a while itsbenefits become apparent. Some applications are more suited to use inlandscape mode. Web and the viewing of landscape photos in Gallery areobvious examples, but this also applies more generally when viewinglarger amounts of text on screen. For example you can see more textwhen using Messaging in landscape mode; this reduces the amount ofscrolling, which can be particularly beneficial when reading email.Rotating the device is a very natural action and I hope we seeautomatic screen rotation become a staple feature of Nseries phones.

Forlonger term S60 users, what will really impress about the N82 is thespeed of the UI and general performance. Navigating around the deviceis quick, with little or no lag time between screens. Most applicationsopen in the blink of an eye and even the more demanding applicationsonly take a few seconds. If an application is already open thenswitching is instant, and there are real benefits to be had from multitasking by leaving applications running in the background. This is madepossible because the N82, like the N95 8GB and N81, boasts more RAMthat earlier S60 devices and consequently it is technically possible(if unlikely) to open every onboard application at the same time. TheN82 remains nippy even with the heavyweights of Web, Gallery and Mapsrunning simultaneously - a real testament to the architecture in theunderlying software platform (including Symbian OS itself). Thisperformance is also noticeable elsewhere, thumbnail creation and imagebrowsing in Gallery is much improved over first generation S60 3rdEdition devices and 'out of memory' errors in Web have gone the way ofthe Dodo.

The N82 benefits, in maturity and stability terms, frombeing at the end of a line of S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 devices.S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 devices are due out later in the year,but the major software additions (outside the previously mentioned WRTand Flash Lite 3) are relatively small. S60 does still have somestrange minor omissions, and there are a few areas where it could learnfrom Series 40, as was commented on in a recent AAS podcast. Overall,though, the S60 software suite still manages to impress most of thetime and the ever increasing number of third party software solutionscan fill in niche gaps, add new functionality or provide a replacementfor those looking for something more.

During the course ofwriting this review the first firmware update for the N82 was madeavailable. There were no major additions (that will likely come later),but there was a first for Nseries, support for user data preservation(UDP). UDP means that your data and installed applications arepreserved through a firmware update. Previously firmware updates wouldwipe the internal drive clean (and thus delete user data). UDP workedwell for me and its a very welcome feature, but I would recommend youcontinue the backup regime if only as a safeguard.

Conclusion

Outsideits Nseries stablemates, the N82 has little competition. Nowhere elsedo you find the marriage of an outstanding camera, good multimediaplayback features, integrated GPS and a flexible open softwareplatform. As we've highlighted in the review above, it is not withoutits problems and annoyances. A more intriguing issue is that the N82may not, despite its technical and feature prowess, stand out all thatmuch from its most recent Nseries siblings. The glory of the 'flagshipdevice' goes to the N95 8GB with its bigger screen and because of thisit is all too easy to forget the N82. Perhaps a comparison with thelast Nseries candybar, the N73, is more informative. Here we can seejust how quickly Nokia's Nseries lineup has evolved. Remember the N73was a top of the line handset just 18 months ago (it was launched onApril 25th 2006) and is one of the Nseries best sellers. The N82justifiably faces some criticism for its keypad, but many would agreeit improves on the N73's cramped keypad and joystick. The N82's featureset and software is a generation beyond the N73. In this light it iseasier to see the N82 for what it truly is - an outstanding handset.

Inevitably,the N82 is directly compared to the N95 8GB and, among power users(yup, that's me - Ed!), the N95 8GB usually comes off best. If the N95family did not exist, the N82 would be held up as the ultimate handset.However this rather misses the point, the N82 has complementary marketpositioning to the N95 8GB and it appeals to a more style-consciousmarket segment. While some consumers are only concerned about gettingthe best possible mobile experience, others marry this requirement to adesire to have their phones represent part of the style they project tothe world. This means that the N82 may not be the first choice for atypical AAS reader, but I suspect it may have broader appeal in thewider market.